Hug-operated vending machines give free Cokes

A Coca-Cola promotion in Singapore lets soda-drinkers embrace giant vending machines that say “Hug Me” to get their beverage. It’s that simple. And that awesome.

The company plans to roll out the Hug Me machines across Southeast Asia as a part of a global “Spread Happiness” campaign.

The “reaction was amazing,” said Coke marketing director Leonardo O’Grady, according to Stylist UK. “At one point we had four to five people hugging the machine at the same time as well as each other! In fact, there was a long line of people looking to give hugs.”

Coke is expressly asking people to show it affection and in return, it will reward them with something both enjoyable and at least marginally valuable. It will give away its product in return for displays of affection. It’s an explicit call to do what brands always hope consumers will do, which is to form an emotional attachment to the product. It’s striking, if not an entirely new concept.

But there’s something more interesting at play too. Why would you show affection towards a machine? The machine feels nothing. Its sensors register that you have taken this small physical action, but it is utterly unaware of you, as a person, your existence, or even your display of affection (however much that may be just for show). The only connection being made is that of a circuit completed, which causes a drink to spit out of the bottom.